Don Meredith

Don Meredith, 85, of Grinnell, died on March 6, 2020, at UnityPoint Grinnell Regional Medical Center.

A Celebration of Life service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 10, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with Rev. John Epperson officiating. Burial will be held in Union Cemetery in Newton.

Visitation with the Meredith family present will be held one hour prior to service at the funeral home.

Memorial contributions may be designated to the Iowa Lung Association or to PALS (Poweshiek Animal League).

Don was born on April 25, 1934, in Des Moines, the son of Rayford Lowell and Verna Elizabeth Jensen Meredith. He was raised in the Sully area and was a 1952 graduate of Sully High School where he was selected All State in football as a running back.

On June 11, 1954, he was united in marriage to Carolyn Trent, in Newton. A union of 65 years! The couple made their home in Grinnell and raised three daughters. Don started a masonry construction business and had built many homes in Grinnell. After moving to a farm outside of Grinnell he raised cattle and hogs, and eventually owned a grain elevator. Don also became involved with Miraco in Grinnell and was a salesman for many years until he retired. He knew the value of hard work!

Don enjoyed the outdoors, hunting and fishing, including trips to Minnesota and Canada, and golfing. For many years, Don and Carolyn wintered at the Southern Comfort, a resort community, in Weslaco, Texas.

Don is survived by his wife, Carolyn of Grinnell; two daughters, Cynthia (Blake) Cooper of Grinnell and Kimberlie (Kurt) Thompson of Port St. Lucie, Florida; six grandchildren, Nicole Routier, Jessica (Brandon) Dewey, Ryan (Bethany) Thompson, Rick (McKenzie) Thompson, Robbie (Cassie) Lewis, and Benjamin Thomson; ten great-grandchildren, Cassie and Jack Routier, Jobe Dewey, Elijah, Isaac, Isaiah Thompson, Avery and Camden Thompson, and Braxton and Bridget Lewis; and two siblings, Dennis Meredith of Bettendorf and Judith Meredith Anderson of Lake Oswego, Oregon. He was preceded in death by his parents and one daughter, Melissa J. Thomson on July 21, 2015.